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Why some women frequently change hairdos

By Angela Hill, Oakland Tribune

Posted:
09/26/2013 03:43:17 AM MDT

Updated:
09/26/2013 03:48:32 AM MDT

Jaunell Waldo, of San Jose, has tussled with her tresses all her life.

Her hair is thin, limp and straight as straw, which of course means she's always wanted thick, bouncy, curly locks. And she's gone to great lengths to get them -- sleeping on hard rollers, enduring eye-watering chemicals from permanent-wave solutions and employing enough hair spray to create such an impenetrable force field that, were she to ride a motorcycle, there would be no need for a helmet.

She even immortalized her coiffure conundrums in a recent memoir-writing class:

"Over the years, I've tried to bend my hair to my will and make it look larger and curlier than it really is," she writes, sharing her essay in response to our request for reader submissions of hairstyles over the years. "It never really cooperated. The perms should have done it. Rather than a head full of lustrous curls, however, I ended up with a frizzy puffball on my head -- think dandelion."

Yes, hair -- it may be merely a natural threadlike outgrowth of the epidermis, yet its dos and don'ts and everything in between manage to take up an awful lot of women's time, energy and money. Sure, men care, too, but hair generally is such a feminine focal point that women probably spend more time in salons than on the treadmill -- not only because we can't stand our strands but often because we're just plain follically flamboyant, trying something new every other day.

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In fact, a British survey released in July that polled 2,000 women showed an average number of hairstyle changes -- cut, color or level of curl/no curl -- at nearly a whopping 150 times in a lifetime. The changes are often connected to major life events such as birthdays, weddings or breakups, but they can also be influenced by a celebrity: Remember "The Rachel" mania?

Still, the No. 1 reason, according to the survey, is boredom with one's current look.

"We get bored with the same style after a while," says Vivian Euzent, of Sunnyvale. "Plus, I think we are always seeking that elusive 'perfect' style that makes us look attractive."

We've tried wigs, falls, extensions and weaves, not to mention hair sprays, gels, conditioners and even enough olive-oil and avocado concoctions to make a really nice salad. Styles have included side bangs, heavy bangs, pixies, A-lines, asymmetricals, feathers, layers and shags. Trends have been shaped after Farrah Fawcett, Dorothy Hamill, Grace Jones, Beyoncé, Jennifer Aniston and Madonna. The September issue of O Magazine is dubbed "The Hair Issue," featuring Oprah Winfrey on the cover with an Afro the size of Africa.

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LOADED LOCKS

Hair is often rooted in meaning. It was a political statement in the '60s, when long hair, especially for young men, was seen as a rebellious act of the hippie counterculture, and the Afro became an emblem of the Black Power movement.

It's the focus of catty controversy. When Michelle Obama switched to bangs earlier this year, Twitter nearly exploded with critics and fans. And it's most certainly an emotional issue. On the TLC fashion show "What Not To Wear," women often burst into tears if the stylist trims even an inch from long locks.

"Once, my hair was cut way too short, and it showed the way my right ear sticks out," says Susan Elya, of Danville, who says her hair has been permed, layered, feathered, straight, bangs, no bangs, Dorothy Hamill, Farrah Fawcett, and now it's "big-time" dyed.

"My high school students noticed that my ears didn't match when I was writing on the chalkboard with my back turned to them," she says. "I heard them talking about me (my ears), and I never cut my hair that short again."

Doris Livezey, of San Jose, suffered through many a perm, often with too-puffy results.

"If a little hair is good, then more hair is better," she says, joking about a poodle-esque do from days gone by. "My mom loved to give me perms and always exclaimed as she unrolled the rollers, 'You have curl!' Now my hair's natural curl has come back, and I don't need to endure those awful perms and the massive results."

Of course, not everyone falls into the "150 hairstyles per lifetime" category. Anne Harris, of San Jose, sent in photos, but she wasn't sure if she qualified since she's "a woman who has worn her hair in the same style every year for her entire life -- all 63 of 'em," she says, noting her simple chin-length, straight hair.

"The hairstyle I always wanted was the '60s flip worn by Diana Rigg, Marlo Thomas' 'That Girl' poofy flip with the bangs, and especially Elizabeth Montgomery in 'Bewitched.' But no can do with fine hair."

And, as usual, the style is always better on the other side of the salon.

"My sister's hair was so curly, she slept with it rolled around empty beer cans and ironed it on our mom's ironing board," Harris says. "Each of us wanted the other's."

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